Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. scarce (adj.) – rare; insufficient in supply
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. scarce (adj.) – rare; insufficient in supply
Example: The cost of rice has increased because
of scarce supplies.
2. hitchhiker (n.) –
(in the mining industry) metals and minerals which are by-products of mining
other metals such as copper, aluminum and zinc
Example: Hitchhiker
metals are produced after copper is mined.
3. physicist (n.)- a
scientist who specializes in Physics
Example: Physicists
can explain the movement of light.
4. conserve (v.) – to
use carefully to avoid losing or wasting something
Example: Conserve
your energy so you can finish your work.
5. refine (v.) – to
make something pure by removing the parts which cannot be used
Example: Sugar is refined
by removing soil and plant parts from sugar cane.
Article
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
The global electronic industry is facing a
shortage of rare metals used to make consumer electronics and clean energy
technologies. As a result, experts hope to find ways of recycling such
materials.
Gallium, indium, selenium are among the scarce metals needed to make today’s
in-demand electronics, including lasers, energy-saving LED lighting, LCD
screens, solar panels and smartphones.
These “hitchhiker”
metals, as they are called, are only produced as a result from the mining of
other metals, such as aluminum, copper and zinc. Because these metals are
only by-products, increasing their supply is difficult.
At the Royal Society conference in London, physicist and economist Robert Ayres
said that raising the prices of hitchhiker metals will also not increase
their production. He talked about how it is more important to conserve, recycle and if possible
find substitutes for these metals.
According to the US Geological Survey, the US
had to depend on the $66 million worth of overseas metal imports to satisfy
demand for gallium in 2011. Yet most of the products made from hitchhiker
metals are eventually thrown away in landfills, said Ayres. In contrast, only
one company, located in Utah, locally refined
gallium from scrap metal.
Ayres also stressed that the low supply of
rare metals may mean less development of clean energy technologies like solar
panels, which especially make use of hitchhiker metals. As such, he challenged
both governments and industries to establish a standard recycling process
that could conserve or make rare metals reusable.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Is
recycling a common practice in your community? Why is it so?
·
How
can the government encourage people to recycle?
Discussion B
·
How
can we control the production of electronic gadgets to avoid shortage of rare
metals?
·
What
do you think is the best solution to this problem?
